04 January 2008, 12:34
International observers to present their estimates of the pre-electoral campaign and elections in Georgia on January 6
At a press conference held at the "ZP" Hotel in Tbilisi, international observers have told about their preliminary impressions from the course of the electoral campaign in Georgia and presented information about their activities.
The 100-strong group of international observers from Israel, USA, Germany and Great Britain arrived to Georgia late in December. So far, the observers have restricted themselves to general statements, they are supposed to present a more detailed report on the outcomes of their monitoring over the course of the pre-electoral campaign and voting process on January 6.
"Reports from regions are basically evidencing that the situation around the elections is rather quiet, although some disorganization is marked. There are still problems with voters' lists. So far, the general is somewhat fuzzy," Ben-Neriya, representative of the "International Centre for Election Systems" (ICES), has informed the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
"We studied reports of mass media, visited electoral headquarters and talked to people in streets. We can note some violations related to the use of administrative resources, imbalance of media, there are also problems with voters' lists," Lydia Lawson, President of the "Independent American Centre for Political Monitoring", has stated.
"We have an impression that almost all the power officials are playing a greater role in the pre-electoral campaigning than they are entitled to," Olga Schtiben, a representative of the "Central European Group for Political Monitoring", has shared her opinion.
Author: Edita Badasian, CK correspondent
